Wade won’t play tonight vs. Spurs

MIAMI — The Miami Heat’s Big Three will be down to two for tonight’s game against the Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade, Miami’s All-Star shooting guard, will sit out with a severely sprained right ankle.

Wade was injured in Miami’s 117-104 win at Denver on Friday.

“We’ll continue to evaluate him every single day,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We do not have a timetable for his return.”

The Heat will get no sympathy from the Spurs, who have been down an All-Star guard of their own for most of the month. Unlike Miami, the Spurs do not have a LeBron James to pick up the slack while Manu Ginobili recovers from a broken left hand.

James is the NBA’s second-leading scorer at 29.5 points per game, and is a big reason Miami was able to win a pair of games with Wade sidelined earlier this month. The Heat also beat Atlanta during that same stretch with both Wade and James on the shelf.

Now, Miami will look to stop a three-game skid with Wade on the inactive list again.

“They know how important Dwyane is and we know how important Manu is,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after this morning’s shootaround. “Other guys take it as an opportunity. They’re going to get some minutes to show what they can do. It’s a natural thing to see teams step up in that regard.”

Here are some other notes from shootaround:

* For the Spurs, tonight’s game marks the start of a stretch in which 16 of the next 21 games are on the road. Considering the Spurs haven’t played well away from the AT&T Center, going 0-4 in road games, it could be a daunting stretch. “You take it game-by-game, piece by piece,” forward Tim Duncan said. “You start thinking about it in those terms, it gets to be a little too much. The schedule is ridiculous, but it’s ridiculous for everyone.

* Gary Neal was still sore but better after taking a Marcin Gortat knee to the thigh Sunday. He is available to play backup minutes behind Tony Parker tonight. Matt Bonner (knee) and Malcolm Thomas (stomach flu) will also be active.

* James was nursing a cold after morning shootaround, an ailment he said he picked up during Miami’s just-completed five-game road swing. “I’ve felt better,” James said. “The road trip got the best of me.”

* It probably won’t happen tonight, but Popovich is planning a night off for Duncan at some point in the near future. “If you don’t sit, there’s so many games so quickly, the minutes can pile up,” Popovich said. “The only way to really catch up is probably sitting now and then.”